


A Juice Box

by BadWriterGoodIntentions



Category: Midnight Poppy Land (Webcomic)
Genre: Polaroid, Strawberry Juice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:15:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24892996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadWriterGoodIntentions/pseuds/BadWriterGoodIntentions
Summary: Tora thinks about his first memory of drinking strawberry juice.
Kudos: 45





	A Juice Box

**Author's Note:**

> In episode 10 of the comic, we see a photo of the "Ares Street Kingz" with what seems to be Tora consoling a little girl in the background. This is my personal theory about that photo.

Tora sat at the bar drinking his glass of strawberry juice, having been forced by Vincent to attend another clan event. Strawberry juice wasn't always an option as a beverage, but Gyu always had Tora covered if it was at a venue he worked at. Seeing that Tora was about to finish his glass, Gyu began to pour another one.

"Big bro, have you always liked strawberry juice? You generally don't seem to like sweet things."

"Dunno, guess I like what I like... just keep 'em coming." Tora wasn't quite sure, but he thinks he started consuming the beverage 9 or 10 years ago.

******************************

Although he had a smaller frame and wasn't exactly as tall as he is now, Tora was still a larger than average teenager with an intimidating personality to match. His size and menacing disposition had been coming in handy as his responsibilities with the clan grew to be more brutal. Vincent Balthuman, through rather cruel methods, had raised Tora to be contained, obedient and exceptionally dangerous. If it weren't for Alice, Joe and Quincey, Tora could have very well ended up as violent and murderous as Vincent.

Tora hung out fairly regularly with a small group of friends, including Goliath. While they sometimes got on Tora's nerves, there was never any need to explain clan activities, and there was a sense of loyalty among them. If anyone rolled up on Tora, he knew any one of these guys would be ready to have his back, and vice versa. One day after school, most of the guys were hanging out on a random stairway downtown not too far from the commerce building. Most of them were ogling women and talking talking trash, business as usual. 

"Ooooh shit, what I wouldn't give to titty fuck her!" 

"That's a nice ass right there, holy fuck!"

"One day, when I run my own shit, women will be fighting over which one's gonna suck my dick!"

"Fuck outta here, Goliath!"

Tora was often present with the guys as they engaged in these annoying pursuits, but he always abstained. He got a lot of unwanted sexual attention starting in middle school from both kids his age and older individuals that conditioned him to have an aversion towards harassment. Tora distracted himself by remembering all the things Alice would lecture him about when it came to how to treat a woman. He also occassionally thought of an isolated conversation he had with Joe about women recently. 

"Joe, couldn't ya find some random chick to get along with. Why don't ya?"

"Listen ya little punk, my sex life ain't your concern!" Joe replied after lighly smacking Tora in the back of the head. "And is that what ya want - a random 'chick' to lock it down with? 'Cause I gotta tell ya, that ain't it for me."

"Whaddya mean?"

Joe was surprised by Tora's interest. "Well, I wanna be with someone who makes me a better man. I wanna be with someone I don't deserve. A woman who's smart, nice and easy to get along with."

"So a real uggo?"

"Ya dumbass!" Joe gave Tora another light smack in the same spot. "Listen, I enjoy good looks just like everyone else, but good looks alone ain't everything... not for me at least. I wanna be with someone who's too good for me. Eh, you'll figure out what ya want. You got time, ya young punk. C'mon, let's get this place cleaned up, or ma will make us regret it."

Tora was spacing out as Goliath called to him. 

"Dude, weren't you listening? About going out on a trip to the country this Friday? 'S not like any of us would lose sleep 'bout missing school... except for maybe Quinceton, but whatever, he can deal. Make sure you tell Quince tonight that he has to get us that big white van."

"Why the hell would we go to the country?"

"I heard it's becoming popular. The Ares Street Kingz need to get in on those dope destinations!"

Tora rolled his eyes at Goliath. "Fuck it, I'm down. I'll let Quince know." 

As the group made their way to the country, Tora largely ignored the banter and kept to himself. Tora silently observed how peaceful and scenic the area looked. After pulling up to their parking spot, Tora observed what looked like a bunch of middle school kids picking on a small child. "Not my problem," he thought to himself. Goliath called Tora over for a group polaroid to commemorate the trip. Tora was making his way over to the rest of the group, when he decided reluctantly to make sure the little kid was okay. 

"Oi, what the shit is going on?" The middle schoolers started to disperse when they saw Tora make his way towards them. He then saw a little girl trying her best not to cry. Tora was unsure about what to do since he didn't have much experience with comforting anyone, let alone elementary school-aged kids.

"Erm... ya alright, kid?"

A little girl looked up at Tora. He couldn't help thinking how adorable she was, like a puppy or a baby hamster.

"Mister, you're really kind. Thank you very much for saving me." 

The little girl's response was shocking. She wasn't afraid of Tora at all. 

Trying to think of what Joe would do and say, Tora bent down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're okay, kid. You can cry if you wanna. I cried after being bullied too." Tora had a quick flashback to a moment when he was suppressing his cry while in a cage when he was younger.

She nodded her head and started sobbing, wiping her face with her little fists. She quickly regained her composure. 

"Any chance you'll stick around and be my big brother, mister? It was really nice having someone here." She giggled and gave Tora a heartwarming smile.

Tora was almost uneasy with how disarmed she was. If he were to be honest, it felt nice to be treated that way. He never imagined have a kid sister, but he wouldn't have minded looking out for someone like her. "Nah, kid. We're from Narin City. I'm going back soon. Maybe you can take up something like, I dunno, boxing to learn how to defend yourself. Get up, and we'll get your stuff." Tora was shocked to see some of her books, including ancient mythology and algebra. 

"Are ya some sort of genius elementary student?" Tora asked as he handed her books books back.

"Actually, I'm 12, I'm just really little." The litte girl responded with embarrassment and a big smile. 

Tora was surprised, but knowing that, he now understood the other kids were just ganging up on a weak peer. It was a dick move, in his opinion, but it wasn't anything new. Turns out that kids in the country can be just as awful as kids in the city. "Straight home, off ya go." Tora was confused by his own response. Why the hell was he acting like a big brother?

"Wait, mister. Take this. It's delicious!" The little girl handed him a strawberry juice box.

"Umm, I'm good, kid." Tora didn't really drink that stuff.

"Trust me, it's the best drink. I've been saving it all day, but I think you deserve it for helping me out. Thanks again!" She then ran off. 

"Weird kid." Tora muttered under his breath. A warm feeling emerged in his chest. It was nice to be treated that way by someone so vulnerable, and it felt gratifying to use his size and intimidation to help a stranger. The little girl was right too. The strawberry drink was delicious. 

"At least you're still in the shot," Goliath said to Tora as he tried to show him the polaroid photo. Tora didn't really look and continued drinking his juice.


End file.
